Viet Nam Open Tour

Con Dao Island has been voted as one of best ten islands of the world for a romantic holiday in 2011 by Lonely Planet Magazine (England).

Con Dao comprises 16 islands and islets and was known worldwide for the political prisons during the French colonial time and American war time. At present, it is considered as a heaven for tourism with smooth beaches shaded by evergreen trees, fresh air, clear blue waters, primitive forests and abundant wildlife. White sand dunes slope gently to the sea, luring tourists not only to swim, play with the waves and discover the beauty of the coral reefs with scuba diving, but also to fish or squid. Apart from Con Dao Island, the list of top ten islands includes: Socotra (Yemen), Torres Strait (Australia), Yaeyama (Japan), Iles du Salut (Guyana), Ulleungdo (Korea), San Blas Archipelago (Panama), Penghu (Taipei, China), Bay Archipelago and Hog Island (Honduras), Ssese (Uganda). The Lonely Planet Magazine has also chosen Halong Bay among the top ten destinations by boat. Other destinations in the list include Fjords (Norway), Amazon River (South America), Franklin River (Australia), Quetico Provincial Park (Canada), Backwaters of Kerala (India), Milford Sound (New Zealand), Greek islands and Disko Bay (Greenland), Galapágos Islands (Ecuador).

The number of Chinese visitors to Ho Chi Minh City in the first 11 months of this year rose by 189% over the same period of last year, according to the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This is the first time that China has topped the list of HCMC’s foreign tourist markets. It was followed by the US, Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan (China), Australia, Malaysia, France, Singapore and Thailand. Currently, China also has the most visitors to Vietnam with about 70,000-90,000 per month. Experts attributed the popularity of Vietnam among Chinese tourists to tourism promotion campaigns in China that launched by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and businesses’ regular attendance at tourism fairs in Shanghai and Kunming.

Many foreign and domestic airlines are managing to cash in on the strong recovery of Vietnam’s aviation market after the 2008-2009 global financial crisis by increasing their frequencies and opening air routes to the country.

Recent statistics released by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) showed a significant increase in the number of both international passenger and cargo flights in the winter schedule compared to the summer schedule, which often ended in October.

A national record for the largest banh xeo (savoury rice pancake) will be set at the Taste of the World Culinary Festival to be held in HCMC, organisers of the festival told a press conference. It will be larger than 1.2m across, La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said without specifying its size. One of the dishes voted into the "HCMC – 100 interesting things" programme, this southern specialty is made from flour, turmeric powder, coconut milk, slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, and bean sprout. It is a popular dish served in many restaurants in the city's downtown area. "The organisers plan to have the 10 best dishes listed in “HCMC – 100 interesting things” to be served at the festival," Khanh said.

International travel journalists and tourism experts have voted the 109-year-old Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi in the top four urban hotels in the world in the Fifth Annual Hotel and Resort Survey of Cigar Aficionado. The 364-room hotel was ranked after Four Seasons George V in Paris but on par with the Peninsula in Hong Kong and the Oriental in Bangkok by the jury of people from Virtuoso, CBS News, Forbes Life, National Geographic, travel agents and operators.